List of works by Akira Kurosawa

The following is a list of works, both in film and other media, for which the Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa made some documented creative contribution. This includes a complete list of films with which he was involved (including the films on which he worked as assistant director before becoming a full director), as well as his little-known contributions to theater, television and literature.

## Filmography

[edit]

### As director

[edit]

All the following are Japanese productions unless otherwise specified.

Year  | English title  | Japanese title  | Romanized title

|
|
|

1943  | Sanshiro Sugata[a] | 姿三四郎 | Sugata Sanshirō
1944  | The Most Beautiful | 一番美しく | Ichiban utsukushiku
1945  | Sanshiro Sugata Part II[b] | 續姿三四郎 | Zoku Sugata Sanshirō
The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail | 虎の尾を踏む男達 | Tora no o wo fumu otokotachi
1946  | Those Who Make Tomorrow[c] | 明日を創る人々 | Asu o tsukuru hitobito
No Regrets for Our Youth | わが青春に悔なし | Waga seishun ni kuinashi
1947  | One Wonderful Sunday | 素晴らしき日曜日 | Subarashiki nichiyōbi
1948  | Drunken Angel | 酔いどれ天使 | Yoidore tenshi
1949  | The Quiet Duel | 静かなる決闘 | Shizukanaru kettō
Stray Dog | 野良犬 | Nora inu
1950  | Scandal | 醜聞 | Sukyandaru (Shūbun)
Rashomon | 羅生門 | Rashōmon
1951  | The Idiot | 白痴 | Hakuchi
1952  | Ikiru | 生きる[d] | Ikiru
1954  | Seven Samurai | 七人の侍 | Shichinin no samurai
1955  | I Live in Fear | 生きものの記録[e] | Ikimono no kiroku
1957  | Throne of Blood | 蜘蛛巣城[f] | Kumonosu-jō
The Lower Depths | どん底 | Donzoko
1958  | The Hidden Fortress | 隠し砦の三悪人 | Kakushi toride no san akunin
1960  | The Bad Sleep Well | 悪い奴ほどよく眠る[g] | Warui yatsu hodo yoku nemuru
1961  | Yojimbo | 用心棒[h] | Yōjinbō
1962  | Sanjurō | 椿三十郎 | Tsubaki Sanjūrō
1963  | High and Low | 天国と地獄[i] | Tengoku to jigoku
1965  | Red Beard | 赤ひげ | Akahige
1970  | Dodes'ka-den | どですかでん[j] | Dodesukaden
1975  | Dersu Uzala[k] | デルス・ウザーラ | Derusu Uzāra
1980  | Kagemusha | 影武者[l] | Kagemusha
1985  | Ran[m] | 乱[n] | Ran
1990  | Dreams[o] | 夢 | Yume
1991  | Rhapsody in August | 八月の狂詩曲 | Hachigatsu no rapusodī (Hachigatsu no kyōshikyoku)
1993  | Madadayo | まあだだよ[p] | Mādadayo

1. ^ Alternatively known as Judo Saga.
2. ^ Alternatively known as Judo Saga 2.
3. ^ Co-directed with Hideo Sekigawa and Kajirō Yamamoto.
4. ^ Translated literally as To Live.
5. ^ Translated literally as Record of a Living Being.
6. ^ Translated literally as Spider Web Castle.
7. ^ Translated literally as The Worse a Person is, the Better They Sleep.
8. ^ Translated literally as Bodyguard.
9. ^ Translated literally as Heaven and Hell.
10. ^ Japanese onomatopoeia for "clickety-clack".
11. ^ Russian–Japanese co-production between Daiei Film and Mosfilm, with dialogue in the Russian language, the only Kurosawa-directed film in a language other than Japanese.
12. ^ Translated literally as Shadow Warrior.
13. ^ French–Japanese co-production.
14. ^ Translated literally as Chaos.
15. ^ Also known as Akira Kurosawa's Dreams.
16. ^ Translated literally as Not Yet.

### As producer

[edit]

Note: Data for the remainder of this filmography is derived primarily from the complete filmography created by Kurosawa's biographer, Stuart Galbraith IV,[1] supplemented by IMDb's Kurosawa page.[2]

For the following films that Kurosawa directed, he also received a production credit:

* Stray Dog (associate producer)
* Throne of Blood (co-producer)
* The Lower Depths (producer)
* The Hidden Fortress (co-producer)
* The Bad Sleep Well (co-producer)
* Yojimbo (associate producer)
* Sanjuro (associate producer)
* High and Low (associate producer)
* Red Beard (associate producer)
* Dodesukaden (executive producer and producer)
* Kagemusha (producer).

In addition, Kurosawa received a production credit on one film that he himself did not direct: Haru no tawamure (1949) (Spring Flirtation), written and directed by Kajiro Yamamoto, on which he served as an associate producer.

### As screenwriter

[edit]

Kurosawa wrote or co-wrote the screenplays for all the films he himself directed. However, to supplement his income, he also wrote scripts for other Japanese directors throughout the 1940s, and even through the 1950s and part of the 1960s, long after he had become world-famous. He also worked on the scripts for two Hollywood productions he was slated to direct, but which, for complex reasons, were completed by and credited to other directors (although he did shoot some scenes for Tora tora tora!, the footage from which has apparently not survived). Finally, near the end of his life, he completed scripts he intended to direct but did not live to make, which were then filmed by others. A table of all these screenplays is given below; all titles are Japanese productions unless otherwise noted.

Indicates principal works directed by Kurosawa.

Year  | English title  | Japanese title  | Romanized title  | Director  | Notes  | Ref.

|
|
|
|
|
|

1941  | Horse | 馬 | Uma | Kajirō Yamamoto | Uncredited, but written alongside his mentor Kajirō Yamamoto.[3]: 22 | [4]: 46
1942  | Wind Currents of Youth | 青春の気流 | Seishun no kiryu | Shu Fushimizu  | Based on "Construction of Love" and "The Life Plan" by Jun Minamikawa.  | [4]: 50
The Triumphant Song of the Wings | 翼の凱歌 | Tsubasa no gaika | Satsuo Yamamoto | Credited alongside Bonhei Sotoyama.  | [4]: 52
1943  | Sanshiro Sugata | 姿三四郎 | Sugata Sanshirō | Akira Kurosawa | Based on the novel Sugata Sanshirō[4]: 54 by judoka Tsuneo Tomita.  | [5]: 246
1944  | Wrestling-ring Festival | 土俵祭 | Dohyōmatsuri | Santaro Marune  | —  | [6]: 119
The Most Beautiful | 一番美しく | Ichiban utsukushiku | Akira Kurosawa  | —  | [5]: 246
1945  | Bravo! Tasuke Isshin | 天晴れ一心太助 | Appare Isshin Tasuke | Kiyoshi Saeki  | —  | [4]: 58
Sanshiro Sugata Part II | 續姿三四郎 | Zoku Sugata Sanshirō | Akira Kurosawa  | Based on the novel Sugata Sanshirō[4]: 59 by judoka Tsuneo Tomita.  | [5]: 246
The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail | 虎の尾を踏む男達 | Tora no o wo fumu otokotachi | Akira Kurosawa  | Based on the kabuki play Kanjinchō.  | [5]: 247
1946  | No Regrets for Our Youth | わが青春に悔なし | Waga seishun ni kuinashi | Akira Kurosawa  | Credited alongside Eijiro Hisaita. Keiji Matsuzaki has an uncredited writer role.[4]: 61 | [5]: 247
1947  | Four Love Stories
"First Love"  | 四つの恋の物語
第一話 初恋 | Yotsu no koi no monogatari
(Dai ichi: Hatsukoi)  | Shiro Toyoda | Omnibus film. Credited for first of four sections.  | [6]: 120
One Wonderful Sunday | 素晴らしき日曜日 | Subarashiki nichiyōbi | Akira Kurosawa  | Credited alongside Keinosuke Uegusa.  | [5]: 248
Snow Trail | 銀嶺の果て | Ginrei no hate | Senkichi Taniguchi | Received main credit.[7] Senkichi Taniguchi has an uncredited writer role.  | [4]: 64
1948  | The Portrait | 肖像 | Shōzō | Keisuke Kinoshita | —  | [6]: 120
Drunken Angel | 酔いどれ天使 | Yoidore tenshi | Akira Kurosawa  | Credited alongside Keinosuke Uegusa.  | [5]: 248
1949  | Lady from Hell | 地獄の貴婦人 | Jigoku no kifujin | Motoyoshi Oda | Credited alongside Motosada Nishikame.  | [4]: 70
The Quiet Duel | 静かなる決闘 | Shizukanaru kettō | Akira Kurosawa  | Credited alongside Senkichi Taniguchi. Based on a play by Kazuo Kikuta.  | [5]: 248
Jakoman and Tetsu | ジャコ萬と鉄 | Jakoman to Tetsu | Senkichi Taniguchi  | Credited alongside Senkichi Taniguchi. Based on "Herring Fishery" by Keizo Kajino.  | [4]: 72
Stray Dog | 野良犬 | Nora inu | Akira Kurosawa  | Credited alongside Ryūzō Kikushima.  | [5]: 249
1950  | Escape at Dawn | 暁の脱走 | Akatsuki no dassō | Senkichi Taniguchi  | Credited alongside Senkichi Taniguchi. Based on a story by Yasujiro Tamura.  | [4]: 77
Scandal | 醜聞 | Sukyandaru (Shūbun)  | Akira Kurosawa  | Credited alongside Ryūzō Kikushima.  | [5]: 249
Tetsu of Jilba | ジルバの鉄 | Jiruba no Tetsu | Isamu Kosugi | —  | [6]: 120
Rashomon | 羅生門 | Rashomon | Akira Kurosawa  | Credited alongside Shinobu Hashimoto. Based on the short stories "In a Grove" and "Rashōmon" by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa.[8]: 332 | [5]: 249
Fencing Master | 殺陣師段平 | Tateshi danpei | Masahiro Makino | —  | [6]: 120
1951  | Beyond Love and Hate | 愛と憎しみの彼方へ | Ai to nikushimi no kanata e  | Senkichi Taniguchi  | Credited alongside Senkichi Taniguchi.[9] | [6]: 120
The Idiot | 白痴 | Hakuchi | Akira Kurosawa  | Credited alongside Eijiro Hisaita. Based on The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky.  | [5]: 250
The Den of Beasts | 獣の宿 | Kedamono no yado | Tatsuo Osone  | —  | [6]: 120
1952  | Vendetta for a Samurai | 荒木又右衛門 決闘鍵屋の辻 | Araki Mataemon: Kettô kagiya no tsuji | Kazuo Mori | —  | [6]: 121
Sword for Hire | 戦国無頼 | Sengoku burai | Hiroshi Inagaki | Credited alongside Hiroshi Inagaki. Based on a novel by Yasushi Inoue, serialized in Sunday Mainichi.  | [4]: 86
Ikiru | 生きる | Ikiru | Akira Kurosawa  | Credited alongside Shinobu Hashimoto and Hideo Ogumi.  | [5]: 250
1953  | Blow! Spring Wind | 吹けよ春風 | Fukeyo harukaze | Senkichi Taniguchi  | Credited alongside Senkichi Taniguchi.  | [4]: 90
1954  | Seven Samurai | 七人の侍 | Shichinin no samurai | Akira Kurosawa  | Credited alongside Shinobu Hashimoto and Hideo Ogumi.  | [5]: 251
1955  | Vanished Enlisted Man | 消えた中隊 | Kieta chūtai | Akira Minura  | Credited alongside Ryūzō Kikushima.  | [10]
I Live in Fear | 生きものの記録 | Ikimono no kiroku | Akira Kurosawa  | Credited alongside Shinobu Hashimoto and Hideo Ogumi.  | [5]: 251
Hiba Arborvitae Story | あすなろ物語 | Asunaro monogatari | Hiromichi Horikawa  | —  | [11]
Sanshiro Sugata | 姿三四郎 | Sugata Sanshirō | Shigeo Tanaka  | First remake of Sanshiro Sugata (1943) based on Kurosawa's script.  | [5]: 261
1957  | Throne of Blood | 蜘蛛巣城 | Kumonosu-jō | Akira Kurosawa  | Credited alongside Shinobu Hashimoto, Ryūzō Kikushima and Hideo Ogumi. Loosely based on Macbeth by William Shakespeare.  | [5]: 252
The Lower Depths | どん底 | Donzoko | Akira Kurosawa  | Credited alongside Hideo Oguni. Based on The Lower Depths by Maxim Gorky.  | [5]: 252
Three Hundred Miles through Enemy Lines | 敵中横断三百里 | Tekichū ōdan sanbyaku ri | Issei Mori  | Credited alongside Hideo Oguni.[12] | [6]: 121
1958  | The Hidden Fortress | 隠し砦の三悪人 | Kakushi toride no san akunin | Akira Kurosawa  | Credited alongside Ryūzō Kikushima, Hideo Oguni, and Shinobu Hashimoto.  | [5]: 253
1959  | Saga of the Vagabonds | 戦国群盗伝 | Sengoku guntōden | Toshio Sugie | Credited alongside Sadao Yamanaka. Based on a story by Juro Miyoshi.  | [4]: 159
1960  | The Bad Sleep Well | 悪い奴ほどよく眠る | Warui yatsu hodo yoku nemuru | Akira Kurosawa  | Credited alongside Hideo Oguni, Eijiro Hisata, Ryūzō Kikushima, and Shinobu Hashimoto.  | [5]: 254
1961  | Yojimbo | 用心棒 | Yōjinbō | Akira Kurosawa  | Credited alongside Hideo Oguni and Ryūzō Kikushima.  | [8]: 448
1962  | Sanjurō | 椿三十郎 | Tsubaki Sanjurō | Akira Kurosawa  | Credited alongside Hideo Oguni and Ryūzō Kikushima. Based on a novel by Shūgorō Yamamoto.  | [5]: 255
Fencing Master | 殺陣師段平 | Tateshi danpei | Harumi Mizuho  | A remake of Fencing Master (1950), which was written by Kurosawa.  | [13]
1963  | High and Low | 天国と地獄 | Tengoku to jigoku | Akira Kurosawa  | Credited alongside Hideo Oguni and Ryūzō Kikushima. Based on the novel King's Ransom by Ed McBain.  | [5]: 255
1964  | Jakoman and Tetsu | ジャコ萬と鉄 | Jakoman to Tetsu | Kinji Fukasaku | A remake of Jakoman and Tetsu (1949), which was written by Kurosawa and Senkichi Taniguchi. Originally based on "Herring Fishery" by Keizo Kajino.  | [5]: 261
1965  | Red Beard | 赤ひげ | Akahige | Akira Kurosawa  | Credited alongside Ryūzō Kikushima, Hideo Oguni, and Masato Ide. Based on the novel Akahige Shinryōtan [ja] by Shūgorō Yamamoto.[8]: 333 | [5]: 256
Sanshiro Sugata | 姿三四郎 | Sugata Sanshirō | Seiichirō Uchikawa  | Second remake of Sanshiro Sugata (1943) based on Kurosawa's script. Kurosawa served as editor.  | [5]: 261
1970  | Tora! Tora! Tora! | トラ・トラ・トラ！ | Tora! Tora! Tora! | Richard Fleischer, Toshio Masuda, Kinji Fukasaku, Akira Kurosawa (portions removed)  | Credit received by Larry Forrester, Hideo Oguni, Ryūzō Kikushima; Kurosawa's credit for directing and writing was removed after his firing in December 1969. Based on the books Tora! Tora! Tora by Gordon W. Prange and The Broken Seal by Ladislas Farago.  | [8]: 261–2
Dodes'ka-den | どですかでん | Dodesukaden | Akira Kurosawa  | Credited alongside Hideo Ogumi and Shinobu Hashimoto. Based on the novel The Town Without Seasons by Shūgorō Yamamoto.[8]: 152 | [5]: 257
1975  | Dersu Uzala | デルス·ウザーラ | Derusu Uzāra | Akira Kurosawa  | Japanese-Soviet co-production. Credited alongside Yuri Nagibin. Based on the novel Dersu Uzala by Vladimir Arsenyev.  | [5]: 257
1980  | Kagemusha | 影武者 | Kagemusha | Akira Kurosawa  | Credited alongside Masato Ide.  | [5]: 258
1985  | Ran | 乱 | Ran | Akira Kurosawa  | French-Japanese co-production. Credited alongside Hideo Oguni and Masato Ide. Loosely based on the play King Lear by William Shakespeare.[8]: 330 | [5]: 259
Runaway Train | —  | —  | Andrei Konchalovsky | American production. Originally set to be directed by Kurosawa. Contributions by Ryūzō Kikushima and Hideo Oguni are uncredited.  | [5]: 261
1990  | Dreams | 夢 | Yume | Akira Kurosawa  | Sole writer.  | [5]: 259
1991  | Rhapsody in August | 八月の狂詩曲 | Hachigatsu no rapusodī | Akira Kurosawa  | Credited alongside Ishirō Honda. Based on the novel Nabe no naka by Kiyoko Murata.  | [8]: 336
1993  | Madadayo | まあだだよ | Mādadayo | Akira Kurosawa  | Credited alongside Ishirō Honda. Based on works by Hyakken Uchida.  | [8]: 336
2000  | After the Rain | 雨あがる | Ame agaru | Takashi Koizumi | Posthumous script and final screenplay by Kurosawa. Based on a short story by Shūgorō Yamamoto.  | [4]: 413
Dora-heita | どら平太 | Doraheita | Kon Ichikawa | Credited alongside Kon Ichikawa, Keisuke Kinoshita, and Masaki Kobayashi. Based on the novel Diary of a Town Magistrate by Shuguro Yamamoto.  | [4]: 415
2002  | The Sea Is Watching | 海は見ていた | Umi wa miteta | Kei Kumai | Sole writer. Posthumous credit.  | [14]

In addition, Kurosawa wrote the following unproduced scripts, composed during the pre-war period in the 1930s and also the wartime period in the 1940s, either when he was still an assistant director or had just graduated to full director. Some of these won prizes in screenwriting contests, establishing his reputation as a promising talent even though they were never filmed.[15]

* Deruma-dera no doitsujin – A German at Daruma Temple
* Shizukanari – All Is Quiet
* Yuki – Snow
* Mori no senichia – A Thousand and One Nights in the Forest
* Jajauma monogatari – The Story of a Bad Horse
* Dokkoi kono yari – The Lifted Spear
* San Paguita no hana – The San Pajuito Flower
* Utsukishiki koyomi – Beautiful Calendar
* Daisan hatoba – The Third Harbor

### As assistant director

[edit]

Year | Romanization of Japanese Title | English Title | Director | Kurosawa's Credit

|
|
|
|

1936
Shojo Hanazono | Paradise of the Virgin Flowers | Shigeo Yagura  | Third Assistant Director
Enoken no senman chōja | Enoken's Ten Million (The Millionaire
or Enoken the Millionaire)  | Kajirō Yamamoto | Third Assistant Director
Zoku Enoken no senman chōja | Enoken's Ten Million Sequel | Kajirō Yamamoto  | Third Assistant Director
Tōkyō rapusodi | Tokyo Rhapsody | Shū Fushimizu  | Third Assistant Director
1937
Sengoku guntō-den – Dai ichibu Tora-ōkami
(Sengoku guntō-den – Zenpen Tora-ōkami)  | Saga of the Vagabonds – Part One: Tiger-wolf | Eisuke Takizawa | Third Assistant Director
Sengoku guntō-den – Dai nibu Akatsuki no zenhin
(Sengoku guntō-den – Kōhen Akatsuki no zenhin)  | Saga of the Vagabonds –
Part Two: Forward at Dawn | Eisuke Takizawa  | Third Assistant Director
Otto no teisō – Haru kureba
(Otto no teisō – Zenpen Haru kureba)  | A Husband's Chastity – If Spring Comes | Kajirō Yamamoto  | Third Assistant Director
Otto no teisō – Aki futatabi
(Otto no teisō – Kōhen Aki futatabi)  | A Husband's Chastity – Fall Again | Kajirō Yamamoto  | Third Assistant Director
Nihon josei dokuhon | Japanese Women's Textbook | Kajirō Yamamoto
(Volume I only)  | Third Assistant Director
(Volume I only)
Nadare | Avalanche | Mikio Naruse | Assistant Director
Enoken no chakkiri Kinta – Zenpen
Mamayo sandogasa: Ikiha yoiyoi | Enoken's Chikiri Kinta Part 1 –
Momma, the Hat: The Nice Way | Kajirō Yamamoto  | Third Assistant Director
Enoken no chakkiri Kinta – Kōhen
kaeri wa Kowai mateba hiyori | Enoken's Chikiri Kinta Part 2 – Returning Is
Scary, but the Weather Will Clear If You Wait | Kajirō Yamamoto  | Third Assistant Director
Utsukushiki taka | The Beautiful Hawk | Kajirō Yamamoto  | Chief Assistant Director
1938
Chinetsu | Subterranean Heat | Eisuke Takizawa  | Chief Assistant Director
Tōjūrō no koi | Tojuro's Love | Kajirō Yamamoto  | Chief Assistant Director
Tsuzurikata kyōshitsu | Composition Class | Kajirō Yamamoto  | Chief Assistant Director
Enoken no bikkuri jinsei | Enoken's Surprising Life | Kajirō Yamamoto  | Chief Assistant Director
1939
Enoken no gatchiri jidai | Enoken's Shrewd Period | Kajirō Yamamoto  | Chief Assistant Director
Chūshingura – Kōhen | Chushingura Part 2 | Kajirō Yamamoto  | Chief Assistant Director
Nonki Yokochō | Easy Alley | Kajirō Yamamoto  | Chief Assistant Director
1940
Roppa no shinkon ryokō | Roppa's Honeymoon | Kajirō Yamamoto  | Chief Assistant Director
Enoken no zangiri Kinta | Enoken's Cropped Kinta | Kajirō Yamamoto  | Chief Assistant Director
Songokū – Zenpen | Songoku Part 1 | Kajirō Yamamoto  | Chief Assistant Director
Songokū – Kōhen | Songoku Part 2 | Kajirō Yamamoto  | Chief Assistant Director
1941
Uma | Horse | Kajirō Yamamoto  | Second Unit Director
(Also, editor,
co-screenwriter
and co-director (uncredited))

### As editor

[edit]

Kurosawa edited all his own films, though he only occasionally took screen credit for it. There are, however, a few instances in which he edited the work of others, as listed below.

* Horse (1941) (Uma), directed by Kajiro Yamamoto (also second unit director, co-writer (uncredited), co-director (uncredited))
* Snow Trail (1947) (Ginrei no hate), directed and co-edited by Senkichi Taniguchi (also co-writer)
* Hiba Arborvitae Story (1955) (Asunaro monogatari) (also co-writer), directed by Hiromichi Horikawa

## Theater work

[edit]

During the mid-to-late 1940s, for the first and apparently the only time in his career, Akira Kurosawa involved himself in a number of theater-related projects.

* Shaberu (Talking) – In 1945, immediately after the war, Kurosawa wrote a one-act play entitled Talking, for, in his words, "Kawaguchi's troupe" (presumably meaning playwright Matsutarō Kawaguchi, who was prominent at this time and who also worked in the film industry). The central character of the drama is a fish merchant who, during the war, greatly admires Prime Minister Tōjō. In emulation of his patriarchal hero, the merchant plays the tyrant at home, but when the war ends, his angry family members air their long pent-up grievances against him. Kurosawa called it "a comic treatment of... Japanese who all begin talking at once", because "we who had been able to express nothing of what we were thinking up to that time [the end of the war] all began talking at once."[16][17][18]
* Yoidore Tenshi (Drunken Angel) – During the Toho strike of 1948, when Kurosawa could not work, he wrote and directed a stage adaptation of his acclaimed 1948 film (see above), with Takashi Shimura and Toshiro Mifune playing the same roles they played in the movie. The production ran for brief periods in a number of Japanese cities, apparently with great success.[19][20]
* Predlozhenia (A Marriage Proposal) by Anton Chekhov – Also during the Toho strike, Kurosawa directed a production of this popular early Chekhov farce. Neither the actors who appeared in the production nor its reception by the public is known.[19]

## Television work

[edit]

A documentary about horses called Song of the Horse (or Uma no Uta), directed by Kurosawa, was broadcast in Japan, supposedly on August 31, 1970 (Kurosawa otherwise totally avoided working in television). Very little is known about the film, and its release date is even in question. For instance, though the film is often said to have aired in August 1970, it is thought that the film features footage of events that did not take place until the summer of 1971. It was considered a lost film for decades and was not available on home video in any form.[21][22] At some point in the 2010s, the film was rediscovered. It was remastered and released on DVD by the American independent company SamuraiDVD in 2017, complete with English subtitles.[23]

## Books

[edit]

Prior to writing the screenplay to his film, Stray Dog (Nora Inu, 1949), Kurosawa created, in about six weeks, a novel based on the same story (presumably also called Stray Dog), which he never published. It was written in the style of one of his favorite writers, the French crime author Georges Simenon. Writing it was supposed to help him compose the script as quickly as possible, but he found that writing the screenplay took even longer than usual because of the complex differences between literature and film.[24][25]

In 1980, inspired by the memoir of one of his heroes, Jean Renoir, he began to publish in serial form his autobiography, entitled Gama no abura (An Oily Toad). The book deals with the period from the director's birth to his winning the Golden Lion for Rashomon from the Venice Film Festival in 1951; the period from 1951 through 1980 is not covered. The title of the book is a reference to a legend according to which, if one places a deformed toad in a box full of mirrors, it will become so afraid of its own reflection that it will begin to sweat, and this sweat allegedly had medicinal properties. Kurosawa compared himself to the toad, nervous about having to contemplate, through the process of writing his life story, his own multiple "reflections." It was published as a book in Japan in 1981, and in English translation the following year under the title Something Like an Autobiography. The book's appearance coincided with the revival of interest in Kurosawa's work following the international release of Kagemusha. (ISBN 0394509382)[26][27]

In 1999, his book, Yume wa tensai de aru (A Dream Is a Genius) was published posthumously. It has not been translated into English, except for Chapter 3. This chapter consists of a selection of 100 of the director's favorite films, listed in chronological order, with detailed commentaries on each film, all given at the request of Kurosawa's daughter, Kazuko. (Since he deliberately limits himself to one film per director, however, the list emerges as more of a "favorite directors" list than a "greatest films" list.) This chapter, but not the remainder of the book, can be found in English on the Internet. (ISBN 4163555706)[28]

Complete Drawings (with text in Japanese) was published by Shogakukan in 1999. (ISBN 4096996114)

The screenplays of many of Kurosawa's films have been published in English. For further information, consult the Wikipedia articles relating to the individual films.

## References

[edit]

Notes

References

1. ^ Galbraith, pp. 651–751
2. ^ Akira Kurosawa at IMDb
3. ^ Conrad, David A. (2022). Akira Kurosawa and Modern Japan. McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-1-4766-4637-4. OCLC 1313904540.
4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Galbraith IV, Stuart (2008). The Toho Studios story: a history and complete filmography. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-1-4616-7374-3. OCLC 852899281.
5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae Richie, Donald (1998). The films of Akira Kurosawa (3rd ed.). Berkeley, Calif.: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-22037-4. OCLC 41038353.
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Erens, Patricia (1979). Gottesman, Ronald (ed.). Akira Kurosawa: a guide to references and resources. A Reference Publication in Film. Boston: G.K. Hall. ISBN 0-8161-7994-8. OCLC 4498268.
7. ^ Japanese Movie Database. "銀嶺の果て". Japanese Movie Database. Retrieved 2023-09-08.
8. ^ a b c d e f g h Galbraith IV, Stuart (1996). The Japanese filmography: a complete reference to 209 filmmakers and the over 1250 films released in the United States, 1900 through 1994. Jefferson: McFarland & Company. ISBN 0786400323.
9. ^ Japanese Movie Database. "愛と憎しみの彼方へ". Japanese Movie Database.
10. ^ Japanese Movie Database. "ソ満国境２号作戦 消えた中隊". Japanese Movie Database.
11. ^ Japanese Movie Database. "生きものの記録". Japanese Movie Database.
12. ^ Japanese Movie Database. "日露戦争勝利の秘史 敵中横断三百里". Japanese Movie Database.
13. ^ Japanese Movie Database. "殺陣師段平". Japanese Movie Database.
14. ^ Mitchell, Elvis (2003-07-18). "FILM REVIEW; A Director's Wooziness Finds Kurosawa's Softer Side". The New York Times. Retrieved 2022-05-26.
15. ^ Galbraith, p. 30
16. ^ Kurosawa 1982, p. 144
17. ^ Galbraith, p. 63
18. ^ Seven Samurai, DVD featurette: My Life in Cinema (Waga Eiga Jinsei): Interview of Akira Kurosawa by Nagisa Oshima
19. ^ a b Galbraith, p. 98
20. ^ Drunken Angel, DVD featurette "It Is Wonderful to Create"
21. ^ Manula, Vili. "Other Films with Akira Kurosawa's Involvement". Akira Kurosawa info. Retrieved 23 August 2010.
22. ^ Galbraith, pp. 486–487
23. ^ Maunula, Vili. "Review: Song of the Horse (Kurosawa 1971 / SamuraiDVD)". Akira Kurosawa info. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
24. ^ Kurosawa 1982, pp. 172–173
25. ^ Galbraith, p. 109
26. ^ Kurosawa 1982, p. vi
27. ^ Galbraith, p. 561
28. ^ Kurosawa 1999, Chapter 3, found at: http://ww.criterionforum.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=7192; translation: Noriyo Hoozawa-Arkenau

Sources

* Richie, Donald (1999). The films of Akira Kurosawa (3 ed.). Berkeley, Calif.: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-22037-4. OCLC 41038353.
* Drunken Angel (DVD). Criterion.
* Galbraith IV, Stuart (2002). The Emperor and the Wolf: The Lives and Films of Akira Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune. New York-London: Faber and Faber, Inc. ISBN 0-571-19982-8.
* Kurosawa, Akira (1982). Something Like an Autobiography. Translated by Bock, Audie. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. ISBN 0-394-50938-2.
* Kurosawa, Akira (1999). Yume wa tensai de aru (A Dream Is a Genius). Tokyo: Bungei Shunjū. ISBN 4-16-355570-6.
* Nogami, Teruyo (2006). Waiting on the Weather. Berkeley: Stone Bridge Press. ISBN 978-1-933330-09-9.
* Seven Samurai: 3-disc Remastered Edition (Criterion Collection Spine #2) (DVD). Criterion.

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by Akira Kurosawa

* Works
* Filmmaking technique
* Awards and honors
* Bibliography

Films|

* Sanshiro Sugata (1943)
* The Most Beautiful (1944)
* Sanshiro Sugata Part II (1945)
* The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail (1945)
* Those Who Make Tomorrow (1946)
* No Regrets for Our Youth (1946)
* One Wonderful Sunday (1947)
* Drunken Angel (1948)
* The Quiet Duel (1949)
* Stray Dog (1949)
* Scandal (1950)
* Rashomon (1950)
* The Idiot (1951)
* Ikiru (1952)
* Seven Samurai (1954)
* I Live in Fear (1955)
* Throne of Blood (1957)
* The Lower Depths (1957)
* The Hidden Fortress (1958)
* The Bad Sleep Well (1960)
* Yojimbo (1961)
* Sanjuro (1962)
* High and Low (1963)
* Red Beard (1965)
* Dodes'ka-den (1970)
* Dersu Uzala (1975)
* Kagemusha (1980)
* Ran (1985)
* Dreams (1990)
* Rhapsody in August (1991)
* Madadayo (1993)

Related|

* Criticism
* Film remakes
* Akira Kurosawa Memorial Short Film Competition
* Kurosawa Film Studio
* A.K.
* Kurosawa's Way
* Seven Samurai 20XX
* Nioh
* Yōko Yaguchi (wife)
* Kazuko Kurosawa (daughter)

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